Game



. Dec. 5, 1944. l w, HARRls 2,364,141

GAME

Filed Dec. 22, 1941- 3 Shets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS GAME Filed Dec. 22, 1941 :5 Sheets-Sheet a NTOR 70 HERB WHARRIS ATTORNEYS Patented Dee. 5, 1944 'Thisl invention appertairrsfitoigames and ge'me apparatus, and more particularly 110 game machines df the"type commonlyreferred to as pinballrmaohine's, e n

One or the primary objects of my invention is to provide a pinball machine whioh will afi'orti a maximum amoimt of amusement and interest to 1 the ':;players we ronlookers, tand onewhich is easily understood *and played, but yet requires great skill and 'a 'stea'dyT hand to obtaina ts'atisiactoryhig'h score.

V In "all pinball machines with which I a 1 m,

miliar, 'the element of chance in 'mel iing a high score is paramount. 'Ilre sk ill df the player en ters very littl'e into the'-'ga;me, anii the Iblayer loses control over the movement ot the ball as soon as iii-15135.11 is prdjeeted {Onto the game board. l l Therefore, another selient object of my i-n ven 'tion is to proviiie -novel 'means; first t'o 'roieet the balls at different-speeds orfiorc'e Iron! the ejecting mechanism; sehomif-to control the path of the ballsas the same areeie'eted; and, third;

toeontrm the path-'bfthe balls (within certain t limits) he game boars-after the bails ii-a e beenshot. n

iknother important tweeter iny 'invention ls other, means being provided for scoring points A further =objec-t 'o'f "my invention is the "provision of :means *for mountin the ejecting pistol and the game boa'rt'i together in suoh "amanner and within the cabinet df the machi'nethat the pistol and game bottrii can be tilted in any three tion, whereby the ime f 'tra/i el of "the ball 'projected canbeeontrolleti b the player, and-Where'- by the board 'ean be tilted'i by theplayer to *control the travel of the baill from "one track "tofan other "on the gameboardl f f l further important 1 "object o'f my invention *is the provision 'of means under the contrdl of the operator .for compressing the-projecting -='spri ng to inyrselected point and' then quiokly releasin g the :projeetirrg mechanism :to proiect the biaills withzth'e desired'speedbrfforoe; J l l i i A still ."fnrther object "of my invention is to provide "means wherebyithe :game can :be simplifled to a great extent to permit the samecito he used aszahandsballtgame. I

U I -D;t TATES PATENT fl erliert'wiflarrisg' npplicatienne ember 22, nu is Z CIdiinsQI (Crete-5416) :-Figu1--e 1 "is :a :perspeetive View illustrating one form of mmballzmazchine eembo'dning 'lthfi sprincipl'estof iymovelgamew it h 5:Ei31116152 is an tenlargei iragmentairy, central,

itertieiiiliseeti'onzthroug'hrthesmachine. 1

h t 311smihorizontahsectionwlMew ethrough theimmcmnermenmn the line :a :a or Figure 2, 1

gamelzb'oani, whiohfean be msed lin the minbnll machine. l l i :Figm'efi is nan cen'larged, transverse,.;sectional view taken can "the linex5;:5 :ofiEi gure 2, looking in the :direction not "the arrows, illustrating the latch release :mechanism :for the 'proj ecti-ng plungerpi ,migure isfCan senlareed; rdet'ail, sectional view taken on the linen6e-:.6:of Eigure32, iookingin the direction of Lthe mrbws, iillustratirrgaa :part :of .the

device: r

slightly modifiecl form :of: igame Sboard.

. Eighreniicis mitopmlan. s'view :of .:a furtherenrodifiedfliorm ofrmmg'ame board. i h i Y *"EFigure 1.0:.is.=a icentraklwertical section taken onithewslineiflO-elfihrof Figure 11,31ooking in;the

direction of rthe arrows; showing the hand ball gametembodyirrglcertain principles of my invention.

' 1 l'Eigure nil-ea "mpfiplah 'ofzth'e hand than gamp m i :Ref'erning itoithe g'dmwings in detail, -wherein gamen'and'the samefineludessa cabinet orzcasi'ng t5, whi'ch iean ulrezh'uilt in ivarious :manners, soxas tozpresent ran attractive appearance to the teye;

Jastilliistm'ted, the c-uabinet or *oa'sing 1s in-n l in cludes 'reariw'alls lizand vlilyside walls I78, and "a.

bottom wall i lhe top. of :the casing is par tially tclosedi" by to rdepending inwardly :flexed itop :Irhis top walllzzu has :formed on its wall 21!. V inner edge ea. udependingl anmilar Pguard :riiange I2 I emithe inemompanymg zdrawings,

the purpose of which will be later set forth. Game balls 22, which can. take the form of steel marbles, are adapted to be projected up through the center of the top wall 20. Hence, the top of the cabinet is closed by a transparent cover 23. This cover 23 can be made from any desired material, such as plastic, glass, or the like, and the cover can be fastened to the top of the cabinet in any appropriate way, such as by screws 24. These ,screws2 4ca n also be utili zed for holding the top wall120 inplace. I

The transparent cover 23 can consist of 'Side an electric score board 21.

board also performs the function of completing the cover.

In view of the fact that the score board can be of the type commonly employed inpinball machines, the same will not bedescribed or illustrated in detail, and the same forms no marginal flange 3| ,which can be welded or other;

wise secured to arguarcl collar 32.; i The guardcollar32 receives the guardfiange 2| formed on the top wa1l'20, and theflange is arrangednormally in spaced relation to said collar. Also rigidly secured to the collar 32belo-wthe game board 28 is .a ball-collecting pan 533; v The pan is so fo'rmed as to receive the balls from lthe'game board, and the pan isdepressed' at one point, so that the balls received thereon will all gravitate tov suc'h1 depressed point, irrespective of the tilting movement of the game board. 1 Q

At the extreme low po'int1of the .pan, thesame is providedrwith an out1et-opening 35, andma downwardly inclined ball=receivingitrough 36' is carried" by the pan and receives the balls as the same drop through'the opening. The trough-33 leads to-an axially disposed ball-projecting barrel 31. The barrel is provided with an opening 38. through which the balls 22- from the trough are adaptedito en'ter said barrel; The barrel'e'xtendsthrough the. axial center of thelgame board, and the balls are adaptedwto be. projected up through the barrel onto said-game boardby means '39, which will be specifically described;

' The upper end of thebarrel can be provided with spring guard fingers 40 to prevent the return of the balls into the barrel after the same have been shot. A spider 4| hasits hub. rigidly. secured to the barrel, and the terminals of the arms of the spider are firmly securedoto the game board. Hence, the gameboard, the ball-collectin pan 33, and the barrel 31' are alliconnected together as a s'ingleunit. i v '3. .:In the formof my game board shown inFig ures 2 and 3, 'the gutter 30 thereof is provided with a row of openings 42*,and as the .balls'drop from'one trackorrunway 29 to. the other, the same' willfinall reach the gutter and drop through the openings 42'into said'pan .33.. l The game'board, and its associate parts are mounted within the cabinet or casing ina novel 'manner,"s0 that thegsam can be rocked ing blocks 41 rigidly secured to the guard collar 32. As the guard collar 32 is carried directly by the game board, it can be seen that the game board can be rocked in any direction. The means 39 for ejecting the balls 22 at different speeds fro-m'the barrel 3'! includes a pistol-shaped casing 48 having a hand grip 49 on one end thereof. The casing 48 extends into the cabinet l5 through an enlarged opening-50 in' the front wall thereof gand the .forward end'of the casing; 48 is provided ;with a sleeve 5|, which I communicates with the lower end of the barrel 31 by means ofasuitable opening formed in said barrel or a-continuati'on .of the'ballopening 38. Slidably mounted within the sleeve5l is an:e1ongated longitudinallyextending rod o-r-firing pin 52, Fastened to the rod is a :collar 53 against which bears an expansion;coil.spring :54. The inner end of the spring bears againstapartition wall 55 formedin said pistol-shaped casing 48. QThe casing is rigidly secured to the extreme lower endof the barrel 31.by means 011a bracket 56, which projects radially from said barrel.

y ,In order to hold the game board level, the lower endof the barrel 3'! can carry a weight 51 on the opposite side thereof from the ball-shooting mechanism 39, and theweight canbeadjusted mounted on said trigger. The rod has formed thereina keeper notch 6| for receiving the latch plate 50 when the sameis 'ina. raised position. The .upper end of the-latch plate is'slidably mounted on a forwardly extendingrarm 62 formed is connected tosaid hammer and casing for nor mally holding the hammer fin} a. predetermined position and the latch plate 60 in its'raised'latching position; The latch .construction is shown to good advantage in Figure-5 of the drawings.

Pivotally' mountedf within the barrel '3'! is a bell crank-shaped lever-56; One armzof-the bell crank-shaped lever receives one ballet a time from the trough 36, and theotherarm of-the bell crankeshaped lever is disposed infront :of the rod or firing pin 52. Obviously, when the rod is projected forwardly under influence of the. spring '54, the bellycrank-shaped lever willwb'e forcibly actuated for projecting onelball: 22'from: the barrel 31. By conipressin'gthe-spring,'54;more.or less, the balls canybe projected with more or less force or speed as may beqdesired by an'operator. or player. I .1; '2 :i': i From the descriptionrso far, ittcan' :be': seen tion Per se.

, to the barrel.

the rod can :be broughtlhackfagainst the: tension of the 1 spring li'd, a desired distance by the operator; ="When'ithe 'trigger has been :brought back to the desired selected: point, then the irod can be releasedffromith'e trigger by pushing inwardly s eamer I that when the trigger l58 is ilatched' to the rod :52,

pn the upper'end of the"hammer 63. This will push the latch =plate -6ll downward away from the keeper notch 6 l As soon as the latch plate moves-away from the walls of the keeper notch, 1

the 'rod will be forcibly urged toward the ,be'll crank lever st nd-proj ct a ball through the barrel and abovethe ganie :boa'rd 28, I l

"gen e operator can change the position ofthe game b'oarclyandtheibarrehflfthe operator or keyway65', and a set screw 66' is carried by the sleeve for engaging the walls of said keyway.

This insures the proper alinement of the latch 50 plate with the keeper notch 6|. As my game is to be played as an ordinary pinball machine, it is preferred to provide a coin-controlled mechanism for releasin a predetermined number of balls for play each time a coin is deposited in the machine. Consequently,

a coin slide plate 6'! can be provided, as is clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. The coin control mechanism can be of any preferred character and forms no part of the present inven- However, when a coin is deposited, a circuit will be closed through a solenoid 68 (see Figure 2). This solenoid can be carried by one arm of the spider 4|, and the plunger of the solenoid has connected therewith an operating rod 63, which is operatively connected to a pivoted gate 10. The gate controls the movement of a certain group of balls down the trough 36 to the barrel 31, and, obviously, when the sole} noid is energized and the gate israised, a certain number of balls can travel down the trough As heretofore stated, any preferred type of electrical score board can be provided with my appliance, and suitableelectrical switches are arranged at different points on my game board,

' so that each time a ball hits and throws a switch, a certain number of points will be counted and shown on said score board. In Figure 4, I have shown each runway and gutter provided with four switches I I.

rockably mounted at one. on a pivot pin 14 carried by the game board. It can be seen that l as a ball rolls against the raised arm of the trip lever 13, th lever will bedepressed for operating the switch. It is to be noted, however, that the ball, to operate a trip lever, must roll in one direction, for if a ball rolls in the reverse direction against the triplever, the same will strike While the switches can be of any preferred character, I

, hence, includes a disc-shaped bottom-Wall 8| and ous'ly, however, any number of partition plates 5yings 30.

the .abmpt -iendl of the trip lever, which will act asaTstQptherefQn-S W Y Atrzaacertain'zpoint on each track or runway andoin the xgutter isuabafile or stopplate 7-5. "In

[order to'make the highest-possible scoregthe' ball should take the pathfishown by the arrows'in Figure 4. Consequently, a'ba1l should landjfirst,

on; the uppermost runway or track and make a complete. *trayel wtherearound, until i the same strikes the bafile.xplate-rl 5; The balls'houldithen drop. torth e 'nextwztrack or 1i runway and travel around the. :same. until it strikes the Pbaflle plate a on that.track,a'=and so-on ,until 'the' ball reaches the gutter and ,falls through one of the open- As @heretofore intimated, the game board can "take-other forms, and-iinFigure 8,:I have shown game boardz lfi. :This game board 16 .is' substantially the same as the game board 28, the only difierence being that each runway is provided with an opening 11 through which the ball can drop to the pan. Hence, the openings" constitute hazards.

In Figure 9, I have showna still further form of game board, and the same is generally indicated by the reference character 18. board 18 differs from the game board 28 in that I provide a continuous spiral runway F9 from the center of the game board to l the gutter. The switches for thescore are arranged in substantially the same manner as that shown in the game boards illustrated in, Figures 4 and 8, and the balls, as projected, are adapted to travel from the top of the game board to the gutter.

The principles of my gamecan be advantageouslyused in a hand apparatus, and in Figures 10 and 11, I have shown such anapparatus, and the same is generally indicated by the reference character H This hand game can include a pan 8B, which can take any preferred form. 1 As shown, the same is of'a cylindrical shape, and,

an annular sidewall 82. Arranged within the pan are concentric partition walls 83 and 84, and these Walls, with the side wall, form a central compartment 85, an intermediate compart-I ment 86, and an outer compartment 81. Obvican be utilized to provide any preferred number of concentriccompartments.

The partition plates are secured to the bottom wall 8| infany. preferred way. Secured toqthe lower face of the bottom wall 8| at itscenter is a handle 88, and the handle is bored forthe reception of an ejecting plunger 89. The lower end of the plunger hasfastened thereto a manipulating fingerpiece 90. The upper end of the plunger has secured thereto a head 9|. A spring in the air, can be placed on the head 9| of the plunger.

In use of this device, the ball 94 is placed on the plunger head. One hand of the user is placed about the handle 88, and the plunger is moved down against the tension of its spring 92 by exerting downward ,force on the fingerpiece lZJ'pon release of thefingerpiece 98, the ball is shot 1n the an, and the player endeavors to catch the ball in the pan.

Each compartment is marked to indicate a cer-.

This game tain number of points. Thus, if the ball is caught in the central compartment 85, the same may count 1,000 points for-the player. If the ball is caught in the intermediate compartment 86, 500 points are counted for the player. :If the ball is caught in the outer compartment 81, then 100 points are counted for the player.

The playing of the hand game, while simple, is highly amusing, and considerable skill is required on the part of the operator to catch the ball or marble 94 in the central compartment.

Various changes in details may be made, which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my claims, and what ,I claim as new is:

1. In a game apparatus, a cabinet casing, a wall arranged in said casing having an opening and said wall being provided with a depending annular guard flange, a game board disposed in lnsaid cabinet casing having an annular dependthe cabinet, means supporting the board fortilt ing movement, means for tilting the board from the exterior of th casing, and a guard collar surrounding said board and carried thereby receiving the depending guard flange.

'2. In a game apparatus, a cabinet casing, a wall ing guard flange, a circular game board mounted within said cabinet below said wall includingv a plurality of concentric stepped annular runways,

" means rockably supporting the game boardin said cabinet, means for rocking said gameboard from the exterior of said cabinet, and an annular HERBERT w. HARRIS." 

